Rev'd Ian Coverdale

I grew up in a small Methodist Church but one where over a two-year period exciting things were happening with over thirty fellow teenagers coming to faith from outside the church. Consequently, I did ask myself whether I should offer for the ministry. At that time God's reply to me was a definitive "No", using the prophet Micah ""What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" So, after university, I got on with pursuing a career in Operational Research, working first at the Department of Health and Social Security on health policy and later at Cheshire County Council leading a small internal management consultancy unit.

By my thirties I was happily settled with a family, in a job I enjoyed and living in a pleasant village on the edge of Chester. To my amazement and consternation God then started calling me out of my very comfortable rut.

In 1990 after training for the ministry, we were sent to my first ministerial appointment in Ellesmere Port and later to Bramhall and finally to Brighouse on the other side of the Pennines. Since retiring in 2014 I have helped out in several circuits around the District when there has been a need to cover an interregnum. I am the minister at Hazel Grove Methodist this year from January till a new minister is stationed to the church in September.

Despite initially digging my heals in and resisting the call to the ministry for two years I have found serving as a minister to be a great joy and privilege. Maybe God knows best!

Although my roots are in Methodism before being a Methodist minister my wife and I would worship in our nearest church of whatever denomination. At different times we have been Anglican, URC, Baptist, Salvation Army & Free Evangelical and happily sent our daughters to Roman Catholic schools. There is far more that unites us as Christians than divides us.

To contact Ian please email ian.coverdale@methodist.org.uk.